DataSage and Spectra Pact Creates Breakthrough Product
For Retail Market Supermarkets, Drugstores to Gain New
Generation Customer Intelligence Software Solution
ACTION ITEMS
DataSage, Inc., a leading provider of customer intelligence software solutions, has signed a licensing and development agreement with Retail Marketing Systems (RMS), an affiliate of Spectra Marketing, to combine features from DataSage Customer Analyst software with RMS' MarketEXPERT product. The agreement couples RMS' leading market position in the management of customer loyalty programs with DataSage's innovative data mining and decision support technology to create a breakthrough product for the supermarket and drugstore markets.
With this alliance, retailers gain a powerful customer analysis solution that allows them to turn their overwhelming amounts of customer data into a crucial competitive advantage.
"The widespread adoption of loyalty cards in these segments has generated an incredible wealth of customer data that is under-utilized," said David Ellenberger, president and COO of DataSage. "Retailers will gain an unprecedented understanding of their customer behaviors and preferences, resulting in optimized business decisions and greater customer profitability, loyalty and wallet share."
"This kind of information is critical to success in increasingly competitive retail markets," said Barry Kotek, partner at Retail Systems Consulting. "The thought leaders in retail have already demonstrated that properly implemented customer-specific programs produce impressive wins. It's only a matter of time until the rest of the players read the writing on the wall. These technologies together will provide a compelling solution for the market."
RMS' MarketEXPERT is the premier tool used by retailers to create, execute and manage promotions and loyalty marketing programs. DataSage's Customer Analyst performs in-depth analysis of POS data to help retailers execute more effective targeted programs and optimize critical business decisions. "This combination will provide retailers with dynamic tools to find the most profitable opportunities in the mass of customer data created by loyalty marketing programs," said John Schultz, president of Retail Marketing Systems, Inc.
"We are excited to partner with a proven leader that has such a strong market presence as RMS does," said DataSage's Ellenberger, noting that MarketEXPERT is being used by over 70 retailers around the world." Enhanced by Spectra's expertise in targeted marketing, this alliance will provide supermarket and drugstore chains with the necessary tools to better understand and serve their customers."
John Larkin, CEO and President of Spectra, said: "The combination of DataSage Customer Analyst coupled with RMS MarketEXPERT and the Spectra Lifestyle/Lifestage Segmentation Grid brings unparalleled analytical and targeting capabilities to our clients. We are very optimistic about the new opportunities unfolding for clients as a result of this agreement."
"The synergy between MarketEXPERT's customer and targeting management capabilities and DataSage Customer Analyst's data mining and analytical capabilities provides retailers with the best of both worlds. With the next generation of MarketEXPERT, retailers now have the most powerful customerspecific marketing tool combined with the most powerful retail decision support and analytical capability available," Larkin added.
The new product is scheduled for commercial availability in the first quarter of 2000. Pricing and details of an upgrade program for current customers will be announced by mid-year.
About Spectra Marketing
Spectra is a division of VNU Marketing Information Services, Inc. (VNU MIS), a leading provider of media and marketing information solutions for a wide variety of industries. VNU MIS is part of VNU, the Netherlands-based international publishing and information company. Spectra provides manufacturers, retailers, and brokers in the consumer goods industries with consumer segmentation, data integration, and retail intelligence. Spectra delivers analytical services through software, proprietary retail data, and consulting. The primary benefits to Spectra clients include applying the Spectra Grid (the industry standard for describing key consumer segments), matching consumer groups to retail shopping locations (via trading area methodology), and describing retail shopping environments (including location, volume, and key store statistics).
About Retail Marketing Systems
Retail Marketing Systems, Inc. develops and markets software products used by retailers to manage customer loyalty programs and to turn customer purchase data into actionable information. Products include MarketEXPERT for organizing customer purchase data and targeted marketing campaigns and TargetEXPERT for real time target marketing using the worldwide web or instore devices such as kiosks or point-of-sale systems.
About DataSage
DataSage, Inc. develops and markets integrated software solutions to help organizations gain customer intelligence for strategic advantage. A fastgrowing segment of the customer relationship management (CRM) marketplace, customer intelligence software helps companies to grow and retain high-value customer relationships for maximum profitability. DataSage offers a complete software solution combining world-class consulting services with data mining technology, enabling businesses to analyze vast amounts of customer transaction data, optimize key decisions and maximize the value of their customer relationships.